Mother of Four
by Dead Girl Snoozing
Summary: Biovolt is gone. The D Boys aren’t. But there’s no way they can go back to a normal life again – not without help. Kai has a new goal – turn them all into normal teenagers. But it won’t be easy… KaiTala, BryanRei, IanSpencer. Part 5 up.
1. Prologue

A/N: Ok, I've finally worked out how to upload this . So, I guess I'm posting this load of rubbish. Oh dear. Right...please bear in mind this is only the prologue - I wanted to practice on a small bit of text first . It's also not a great work of art, unfortunately. I think the correct term is 'mindless plotless babble'. So, although there's not exactly a massive amount of it yet, there will be another, longer chapter very very soon. Providing I don't blow up my computer in the next five minutes, of course...

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. I'm not sure about a lot of things, but I am **certain **of that.

Warnings: Male/male relationships/yaoi/shounen-ai etc. Possibly later on there will be self-injury issues and lime, if I can kick my lazy arse into writing it...

Summary:  
  
Biovolt is gone. The Demolition Boys are no longer super soldiers in a war to take over the world. But there's no way they can just go back to being normal boys again. Kai knows this, and he's set himself a new goal; turn the Demolition Boys – and himself – into normal teenagers. But it's not going to be easy... Kai/Tala, Ian/Spencer, Bryan/Rei  
  
Mother Of Four  
  
Prologue  
  
The World Tournament is over. The Bladebreakers have won, and are preparing to go back to their respective homes – all but one. Kai Hiwatari sighed quietly as he looked over the room and the four seated occupants, who had once made up the elite team known as the Demolition Boys. Not any longer. Now, they were just four more teenagers. Admittedly, not four _normal_ teenagers; few normal teenagers were taken at an appallingly young age and brainwashed into helping an insane man take over the world, with a side-order of military training thrown in for good measure. But still teenagers. And there was the problem. The ex-Demolition Boys could Beyblade with the best of them, were genetically altered to be stronger and better than all others, were trained in a number of highly deadly fighting techniques, could use pretty much any weapon with lethal accuracy and were also incredibly good at following orders. Sometimes. But, unfortunately, somewhere in there Biovolt had completely forgotten to teach them how to, say, operate a washing machine, or cook, or vacuum, or- Kai cut that line of thought off. The list could go on, and on, and on- Kai cut himself off again.

What didn't make things any better was the fact that all of the boys – and that included himself – were all suffering emotional and physical backlash from their harsh upbringing and training. He himself had managed to get over the worst of his own problems with the help of the Bladebreakers, but he knew the same didn't apply to Tala, Bryan, Ian and Spencer. And again, unlike him, they didn't have anyone to help them adjust to the hardly ever but occasionally wonderful, often weird and always bizarre world outside of Biovolt. Which was, of course, why he was here, staring at four impassive faces and seriously out of his depth. Because they deserved someone to help them through, help them heal. They deserved someone to care for them, to be there for them, to show them how to take care of themselves. Basically, they deserved a mother. Oh goody. Kai the Mother of Four. Why was he doing this again?

But inside, he knew they were worth everything he would have to put up with.


	2. Hello, I'm Your New Nanny

Eh, I mucked this chapter up when I first posted it, so sorry for any inconveniences. Hopefully it'll come out better this time. Thanks to Devlinn Reiko-sama, Lefty, Pyro-At-Heart and Blue-winged-donkey-rabbit (cool name!) for reviewing the prologue! Also, thanks Hollie for reading it anyway, but you must be very very bored. There's hints of the dreaded slash in this though Holz, so be warned.

Note: This is set after the first season, as if V-Force never happened etc.

A/N: Here's the first chapter then, nice and early. Updates will be irregular – I'll add the next chapter once I've started the one after. I'm disorganized and lazy, so, sorry in advance. This chapter's really just for setting the scene and getting all my main characters in place. Another thing I have to ask is that please, please, please tell me if I should up the rating later on. I'm British, and don't use the same rating system. We have U, PG, 12, 15 and 18. I'm not really sure where this fits in, but I don't think it's going to be anywhere near R. Tell me if I'm wrong!  
  
Summary:  
  
Biovolt is gone. The Demolition Boys are no longer super soldiers in a war to take over the world. But there's no way they can just go back to being normal boys again. Kai knows this, and he's set himself a new goal; turn the Demolition Boys – and himself – into normal teenagers. But it's not going to be easy... Kai/Tala, Ian/Spencer, Bryan/Rei  
  
Warnings: M/M relationships/yaoi/shounen-ai, self-injury issues, a little mild language, possibly a small amount of lime.  
  
Disclaimer. I don't own Beyblade. The end.  
  
Chapter 1: Hello, I'm Your New Nanny  
  
Kai surveyed the four sitting ramrod straight in front of him again, and mentally ran over problems likely to come up with each of his 'children'. He looked to the apparently least difficult to figure out ones first, Spencer and Ian.

Spencer. Kai looked thoughtfully at the big blond Russian who'd beaten him in the finals. Kai felt no bitterness towards Spencer, even though he'd stolen Dranzer in an unfair battle. There was something impossible to hate about the blond, an overwhelming loyalty and devotion showing in every motion making lashing out at him like whipping an over-affectionate puppy. On the surface, the blond appeared to be adjusting well to the destruction of Biovolt and the life he'd known, but Kai was looking deeper than that and could see something he doubted anyone but Tala had seen. Spencer was a soldier through and through, and he needed orders, needed to be directed and praised, like a child. Kai could see that without Biovolt's strict regime, Spencer didn't know what to do with himself; he'd been so used to doing what he was told, he'd forgotten how to make his own decisions. Or just never knew – he'd been brought to the Abbey at a very young age. Without Tala's steadying influence, he would've probably lost control weeks ago, feeling adrift and alone without a purpose in life. Now Kai knew why Tala had been so insistent that the team stay together, whatever else happened. Spencer needed the stability of his team, now that the foundations on which his life had been built had been utterly destroyed. Kai's roving eyes paused on Spencer again, noting who he was sitting next to.

Ian...and there was another puzzle. Ian and Spencer fought continually, with Ian generally picking Spencer as the target for his innumerable pranks. Wise choice, considering that Tala would probably sentence him to extended training session, much like Kai did to Tyson when he was being particularly annoying. Being team captain did have some perks. As for pranking Bryan – even Ian knew that was a very, very bad idea. Very bad. Fatal, in fact. But despite the apparent animosity between the two, Kai had noticed they always sat together, and spent the majority of their time together. Like they actually liked each other's company...there was food for thought there. Kai had also noticed how protective Spencer could be of Ian. The thought was weird, but plausible. Something to think about at a later date, at least.

Which led him nicely on to Ian. In most ways, Ian was the least complicated and problematic of the Demolition Boys, but that wasn't saying much. Just because he showed few outer symptoms of trauma, didn't mean everything was fine and dandy with the short blader.

Whereas, of course, Bryan was obviously affected by his time in the Abbey; his training was pretty obvious. Achieve your mission at all costs, do so by being cold and heartless, driven only by hatred. Bryan was likely to be the hardest Demolition Boy to adjust to normal life. Nothing about him could remotely be called normal or human; he was cold, harsh and utterly ruthless. Possibly. Biovolt's training was flawed in many ways; Kai just hoped that there was a part of Bryan that could be salvaged. There was going to be a lot of emotional trauma to deal with there, though. But, just like the rest of the team, Bryan was worth the effort, and deserved it for what had happened to him.

Kai jerked out of his contemplative haze as Mr Dickinson, - who had been standing in front of him giving some speech on how the Demolition Boys were now free of Biovolt's evil clutches and could now lead happy productive lives, blah, blah – wound down finally and finished his speech.

"And so, my boys, " Kai winced slightly as he noticed the team's eyes narrow slightly at that little endearment, "in light of what I've said, the BBA have decided you will be free to integrate yourselves into society once more. No charges will be pressed against you, as you were not acting of your own free will-" Here Bryan gave a tiny growl and looked like he was either about to say something or just skip straight to the killing, but Tala leaned over and muttered one harsh word in Russian. Bryan settled back into his chair, impassive once more.

"Ahem, like I was saying, you are free to go, but we at the BBA would like you to stay in a BBA apartment for a while before you enter the mainstream of life. We would also like you to have a monitor live with you for a while, to check...that society is ready for you. I hope that's satisfactory?"

Tala looked briefly at his team, then turned back to the front.

"No. It isn't." Mr Dickinson spluttered.

"Really, I must insist upon it-" Tala cut him off again.

"We've had enough of being 'monitored'. We can look after ourselves, and we don't need your _charity_." Tala spat the last word contemptuously. "As for insisting, I'd like to see you try, old man. We can get out of here any time we want to."

"It's for your own protection! The BBA simply cannot allow four young men such as yourselves to wander around with the kind of training you received. Besides which, you have no means of supporting yourselves, only basic education in certain areas and nowhere to live!"

"We don't need your protection either. We can support ourselves just fine, like I said." Tala replied coldly.

Ian picked this moment to make a low, quick comment in Russian. Tala snapped "Ian! Quiet! Now is not the time for your perverted sense of humour! And that comment was not funny."

Mr Dickinson seized on this. "See? You seem to feel that there is no place for jokes or laughter in your lives. You need someone to show you how to have fun again!" Tala looked faintly amused. "It is very evident that your Russian is imperfect. If you had understood that comment, you would not have thought it funny or appropriate either." The BBA official bristled again. "Oh?"

Kai decided now was a good time to intervene.

"He's right." Tala jerked slightly at this reminder that Kai was in the room, and Kai stood upright from where he'd been slouched against the wall. "Ian said that you seemed very eager for them to come and 'find employment with you', and he was wondering just what you had in mind for 'your boys'"

Mr Dickinson flushed bright red at the inference and Ian started laughing, until Bryan reached over and whacked him round the head, earning a brief but subtle glare from Spencer. Ian shut up immediately.

"I can assure you that that is completely wrong, and that comment only goes to show how Boris has twisted you-" Tala didn't bother replying. He just stood up. The rest of the team did too.

"We're leaving. You can either let us go, or we'll let ourselves out. I can't guarantee no one will get hurt if you choose the latter. It's your choice. But the Demolition Boys _are_ leaving." Kai sighed mentally. Time to intervene again.

He walked forward to the spluttering Mr Dickinson and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'll take it from here." Mr Dickinson turned even redder. "Now see here, Kai, I said you could sit in on this discussion, but I don't believe I gave you permission to interfere with the proceedings!"

The slate haired blader raised a silver eyebrow. "I don't think the proceedings are proceeding very well though, are they? Trust me. I know what I'm doing." He stepped forward. "I will be the one living with you if you take the BBA's offer. I won't be interfering in your lives unless you want me to, which I highly doubt. I will simply be showing you how to function in life so you don't end up back here in the police station. And yes Tala, I know that you can break out of here in second and will do so as many times as you have to, but bear with me here, hmm?"

Tala opened his mouth again. Both bladers ignored Mr Dickinson's incoherent noises at this new revelation. "You? What makes you think you're any better? You've left us twice, Kai. You aren't wanted. Go back to your little Bladebreakers."

Kai looked at him carefully. "Let's go outside to talk about this, Tala. I have some things to say to you that don't need an audience." Tala shrugged and motioned to the other Russians to sit back down. "I'll give you a couple of minutes, Phoenix, and that's all." The Bladebreaker shrugged and left the room, Tala following.

Mr Dickinson made to follow them, but another growl from Bryan and a freezing glare made him shiver and think better of it.

Once the door had shut behind them Tala turned to Kai. "So. Talk. What makes you think you're any better?" He repeated. Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Because you need the BBA's help. And because you don't need the BBA's 'monitoring'. Mr Dickinson was right about one thing; you have no way of supporting yourself. And there are no chances of you getting jobs either. You all have excellent educations – Boris didn't want you to grow up stupid, after all – but you still won't get hired. You were part of an incredibly powerful crime syndicate with plans to take over the world, after all. Not really prime material as a waiter. Besides, I wouldn't count on any of you not to kill the customers if they annoyed you."

Tala shifted uncomfortably, the slightest hint of an embarrassed flush crossing his face as they both paused to consider the concept of Bryan as a waiter. The thought provoked near-identical winces. Tala wasn't about to be persuaded so easily, however.

"There are other ways of obtaining money. With our skills it should be no problem." He said coldly. A passing police officer looked curiously at them, his face twisting into a grimace of disgust at the sight of Tala.

Oddly enough, even with Boris and the Abbey exposed, public opinion of the Demolition Boys was still incredibly low. The other children in the Abbey had mostly been reclaimed by their families, and the rest taken into foster homes and orphanages. No one blamed them for being brainwashed into becoming part of Voltaire's army. But for some reason, the same acceptance had not been extended to the Demolition Boys. Even after Tala and Tyson had shaken hands with each other after their battle, the Demolition Boys were still despised. Perhaps it was because they were considered to be old enough to know better; at sixteen, seventeen and eighteen years old, they were legally no longer children. Maybe it was because most of the CCTV camera footage showing the Demolition Boys' 'training' had not been recovered, and the bits that were the BBA were hanging onto. No one realized just how bad it had been for the Abbey team. And what Tala was suggesting would only get them into deeper shit. And Kai wouldn't let that happen.

"So you'll turn to crime? Won't that do wonders for you. People will hate you even more, and when the police finally catch up with you, they won't be lenient. And they will catch up with you. Someday you'll get careless, or unlucky, or the team will break up. Besides, don't you think your team deserves to have a normal life? Behave like teenagers for once? Not have to worry about running and hiding?"

"So in return for a normal life, we have to accept your leadership back? I don't think so, Kai. You've done quite enough for the team so far, I think." Tala sneered, trying to hide the undercurrent of hurt in his words. Kai's face softened almost imperceptibly. "I'm not planning on waltzing in and stealing the team leadership from you again, Tala. I'll be there to help you adjust, that's all. You'll still be in charge of your team. Please, Tala. I don't want to see you get yourself killed or in jail. Just take the offer. You can always leave. Hell, I'll even help you, if that's what you really want." Kai and Tala stared each other down for a while. Finally, Tala broke and let out a giant huff of air.

"Fine. But I'm in charge of my team, not you. Clear?" Kai nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Clear." Tala turned to go back into the room where Bryan had probably gutted Mr Dickinson with Spencer and Ian egging him on, but Kai's hand on his arm stopped him. "Tala...I missed you." Tala didn't turn around. "I missed you too." Kai nodded and the two entered the room as if nothing had been said.

####

"What?!" Ian yelped. "We're accepting their offer? Why?!" Tala frowned at him, then sighed and opened his mouth to reply, but Kai beat him to it. "Because I'll make sure that the apartment we'll be staying in has Sky television [1], a computer and a Playstation. Good enough?" Ian's face lit up at the thought of feeding his growing obsession with turning into a couch potato.

Tala smirked slightly, and whispered to Kai, "How did you guess he'd become so hooked on playing games and watching T.V. since we left the Abbey?"

"Easy," Kai whispered back, "I just thought of what Tyson would do in that situation." Tala snorted but refrained from commenting. Mr Dickinson looked up, apparently over his previous attack of apoplexy.

"And that's another thing! How do you think your team is going to react at the news that you're leaving them for the second time for the Demolition Boys? You're abandoning them again! And that's apart from the fact that you are completely unsuitable for this kind of responsibility! Why, you're hardly the most stable member of your team!"

Kai's face darkened. "Firstly, I've already talked to my team, and they've agreed. They're not entirely happy with my decision but they trust me to do the right thing this time. Although I did have to submit to being searched for Black Dranzer...and they'll be dropping in sometime before they leave Russia. Probably at the worst possible moment, but that's them." Tala rolled his eyes but nodded acceptance of the visit. "As for 'being unstable', that's precisely why I can help the Demolition Boys. Some of the shit they went through, I went through. Not all of it, but enough to know what it was like. Enough for me to understand them better than you, anyway. Besides, I speak Russian. You don't, and I bet your little 'observer' doesn't either."

The old man's face flushed even redder. "It wasn't necessary–"

Kai cut him off for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "It's their native language. I think that settles everything, doesn't it? So, where is this apartment?" The BBA official gave in, and handed a bundle of papers and a set of keys to Kai. "Fine, but the moment the Demolition Boys become a threat to the public, the arrangement is off. Here are the keys and the address of the apartment. The papers give you all the information you'll need about your duties, and you'll receive a monthly stipend for living expenses." He huffed and turned to go, obviously offended. Kai's stern voice stopped him.

"One more thing. Does the place we're staying have a computer, a T.V. and a Playstation?"

"A Playstation? You must be joking! The BBA aren't paying for you to laze about all day. You want luxuries like that, you'll have to get a job and buy one!" "As I recall, the Demolition Boys are doing this so that they can learn what it is like to be teenagers again. What teenager hasn't played on a Playstation before?" Mr Dickinson sensed he'd lost this fight entirely and surrendered. "Fine! I'll have one sent to you!" He left, slamming the door bad temperedly. Kai looked after him, smiling again. "Never did like that man..." he mused.

Meanwhile, Ian was grinning like mad. "Thanks, Kai."

Kai looked over. "No problem, Ian."

#####

[1]= Sky television is British only, I think. Digital, lots and lots of channels, don't know what the American version is called. I'm assuming everyone's heard of a Playstation...I hope...

Eh, that didn't come out quite as I'd planned, but...good enough, I guess. I know I made Mr D. a bit of a bastard in this, and he's supposed to be a tolerant, generally great person, but I'm afraid I don't like him that much – he's kind of manipulative of everyone, like when he tricked the Bladebreakers into missing their boat in the first season. He does it for the good of the boys, of course, but I figure Kai must be a little sick of being manipulated by old men. And there's not a whole lot of footage of Ian or Spencer in the first season, so I'm making it up as I go along. Just stick an OOC label on it, probably. I like Ian this way, but tell me if you feel there's anything I can do to make him more in character. To be honest, I can only remember one line of his – "Don't you just hate being right" or something. And Spencer's "Sir! I won!" which I based his whole character on. Oh well 


	3. Genetically Enhanced CyberSoldiers In Wi...

**A/N**: Er, please don't kill me? I had a weird system bug thingy that stopped me from saving anything, so I couldn't do much. All better now, and here's the next chapter. Peace? I wrote this chapter in three sittings or so; in one I was happy, in one I was kinda depressed and in one I was just plain shit tired. So this chapter doesn't exactly hang together very well, unfortunately. I'm also terrible at writing emotional scenes - I'm an unemotional person on the whole, so I'm pretty terrible at writing the stuff. Parts of this came out so wrong, but it took too much effort to write this so I honestly can't be bothered to go back and change it. Sorry. --

**Warnings**: Vomit. Lots of sickness. You'll see what I mean. Tiny amount of blood. Tiny bit of language. Shounen-ai, bad prose. Tiny bit of Mariah bashing.

Review Responses:

Pyro-At-Heart: Eh, I thought I put the pairings in the summary in the first chapter, but here you go It'll be Kai/Tala (yay! ), Spencer/Ian ( There have to be _some_ of these out there! I don't suppose you know any?) and eventually Bryan/Rei. There won't be much of a focus on Kai/Tala, but I will try and put as much as possible in. There's lots of Spencer/Ian interaction - a chapter or two will most likely be about Kai playing matchmaker . The Bryan/Rei won't come until slightly later, I think, I have some issues I'm gonna put him through. sadistic grin Hope that answers your questions, thanks for reviewing!

Rejiita: Yup, the Demolition Boys and Kai rock. The DBoys are especially underappreciated, in my opinion.

Himeko Sukie: Yes, I made Mr Dickinson a bastard. I just don't like him much. Sorry if you're a rabid fan of him! giggles but I needed someone for the DBoys and Kai to push around. '

Devlinn Reiko-sama: Thanks blushes. See? Update! Just ignore the 'soon' bit...sweatdrop Thankyou for reviewing!

Here you go then, please read and review/ignore/flame etc. Next update will probably be in a week - the only evenings I have free are now Friday, so I'll try and post on Saturday.

**Chapter 2: Genetically Enhanced Cyber-Soldiers In Withdrawal Can Be Moody  
**  
"Sweet!" Ian cried, making a direct beeline to the couch and the T.V. Tala rolled his eyes.

"Ian, you're even starting to sound like Tyson. Stop it. It's bloody scary. One Tyson is far too many, thank you very much." Ian sniggered.

"You're just sore 'cause you lost to the idiot." Tala glowered threateningly at him and he shut up, turning all his attention to the television as he played with the remote. Spencer sat down next to him, and the two promptly started an argument over who had the most right to the remote. Bryan scowled at them in particular and the world in general and leaned against the wall, unconsciously mirroring Kai's favourite pose. Tala smiled inwardly, wondering if that was just the official pose of cold moody bladers or something they'd picked up from the Abbey.

He looked around the small flat they'd been assigned. It wasn't bad; a lounge leading to a small kitchen with an eating table, and a small corridor with four doors leading off. Tala walked over to investigate, Kai following on behind. A quick inspection revealed that three of the four doors led to bedrooms. The door closest to the lounge proved to lead to a small bedroom with a single bed, undoubtedly meant for the 'observer'. The next door across from the first led to a room with two single beds: the Demolition Boys were expected to share two to a room. The third door didn't lead to a bedroom; instead there was a small bathroom, tiled in a nice shade of artic blue that made Tala feel chilly just looking at it. With lovely pea-green highlights.

With a certain amount of justifiable trepidation, Tala opened the last door, Kai following on his heels with morbid curiosity. However, he was greeted with a perfectly normal room almost identical to the double down the hall. The only difference was the plain wooden door on the left hand side, which led onto an en suite bathroom, fortunately tiled in white this time. Tala shrugged and turned back to Kai.

"I guess me and Bryan can share this room, you can take the first room and Spencer and Ian can take the other double. Sound okay?" Kai shrugged right back.

"Sounds fine. I don't care." They walked out back to the living room. Ian had abandoned the T.V. in favour of trying to steal Spencer's weird headband. Eventually Spencer grew tired of evading Ian's grabs and simply stood up.

"No fair!" Ian whined. "Why does everyone have to be so tall?" Kai smirked.

"We aren't tall – you're just short. You might grow out of that, though. I'm betting you'll never grow out of that attitude of yours." The short blader stuck his tongue out at Kai. Spencer moved from between the two bladers, walking over to Tala and exchanging looks of patient suffering with him.

"Hmpf. At least I'm the last to get wet when it rains!"

"On the other hand," Kai added, his eyes gleaming mischievously, "you better hope that nose of yours doesn't grow any longer, or people will be mistaking you for a runway from a Disney studio."

"Huh?" Ian frowned "I don't get it. Whatcha talking about?"

Kai grinned. "Guess you never saw Pinocchio, then."

Ian continued to glare, sure he was being insulted but not having an excuse to attack. Tala provided the excuse, being a little more knowledgeable about cinematography than Ian.

"He's insulting the size of your nose, Ian. And your lack of morals."

"Hey! My nose is not big! And I have plenty of morals!" With that, he launched himself at the blunette, who moved deftly out of the way a split second before connection. Ian was suddenly faced with a wall approaching his face very fast. A second before _that_ connection happened, he jerked to a stop. Ian twisted around to see that Spencer had caught him by the collar as he went past. The blond shook his head with a sigh and set him back on his feet. Both Tala and Kai were grinning at the pair in a rather disturbing way. Ian self consciously tried to brush Spencer's hand away from his neck, only to jerk his hand away as they made contact. A tiny, tiny blush spread across his face as he glowered heavily at Kai. Then he frowned harder.

"Hey! Aren't morals a type of freckle? Are you implying I'm ugly? 'Cos if you are, you are so gonna get it!" Kai choked with laughter. Tala hit his head with the heel of his hand.

"That's **moles**, Ian. Morals are principles, ethics, whatever you want to call them."

"Oh. That's okay then. I don't have any of those either."

"No kidding. Hey, we've checked out the rooms, and you and Spencer will be sharing a room, and me and Bryan another- Where is Bryan?" Ian bounced back to where he'd dumped his small amount of luggage, only to find Spencer had already picked it up as well as his own.

"Oh, he already went into the room at the end. Looks like he didn't bother waiting for you to assign us rooms. That's Kunetsov, I guess." Tala grimaced.

"Guess it's you and me sharing then, Kai. No point trying to turf Bryan out, I'm in no mood for dealing with his homicidal urges anyway."

Kai nodded his agreement, but furtively studied Tala carefully. The crimson- haired blader looked tired, and stressed. There were black circles under his crystal blue eyes, and the eyes themselves were slightly bloodshot. He kept raising his hand to push crimson bangs away from his eyes as if they obscured his vision, but Kai could see that they weren't the cause of the problem. So...it looked like his suspicions concerning the Russian captain were accurate, as usual. The thought didn't make him feel any better. This was going to cause problems... The Bladebreaker – ex-Bladebreaker? – sighed quietly, then pushed the matter firmly out of mind and turned his thoughts to dinner. A part of his mind snickered at him getting so into the role of housemother so quickly, and an image of himself dressed up in a flowery apron dusting happily surfaced. He growled under his breath and headed for the tiny kitchen, ignoring the odd looks the three Demolition Boys threw his way as they moved their belongings into their new rooms.  
  
####  
  
All five bladers were gathered in the tiny kitchen, seated elbow to elbow at the miniscule eating table. Kai was continuing his discreet observation of Tala over a bland meal of pasta, Spencer and Ian were quietly and absentmindedly annoying one another while shovelling as much food as possible in and Bryan was simply eating mechanically, impassive mask firmly in place. Kai frowned inwardly and switched focuses for a second, noting how Bryan kept pressing down on his stomach under the table. The movement was so tiny, even Kai wouldn't have noticed it normally.

'One problem at a time' he mentally scolded himself. 'Maybe he has indigestion or something. I don't cook too well, after all'.

Returning to Tala, the bluenette reflected that he certainly did have enough to worry about already. Tala was showing signs of increasing exhaustion, although he was hiding it incredibly well, considering. Finally the redhead rose, scraping the remainders of his meal into the bin.

"I'm going to turn in. I suggest you do the same. We have work to do tomorrow." He said shortly. Ian groaned and rose as well, Spencer and Bryan following. The team split up quietly, Spencer volunteering to clean up and dragging Ian in to dry. Ian complained bitterly but didn't try to escape, and Tala smiled tiredly at them, then left. Ian and Spencer exchanged brief glances, then shrugged and continued with the chores. Kai followed Tala into their shared room. He was kneeling over his bags, rooting through them for something when Kai entered, but stopped when he saw the other boy. Kai noted absently that his hands where shaking where they were fisted in the bag.

"Tala-" he started "Not now, Kai." Tala snapped, pulling out a small paper bag and making for the bathroom.

Only to find himself up against the wall with crimson eyes boring into his.

"_Yes_ now, Tala. I know what's wrong with you."

"What? There's nothing wrong with me! What are you talking about?" His voice was shaky and panicked. Kai slammed him against the wall, gently.

"Oh? So how come I managed to attack you without you even noticing? How come your hands are shaking? How come you look like shit, and even Ian can notice there's something wrong?" Kai demanded sarcastically. "How come the always cool calm collected captain of the Demolition Boys is panicking like a teenage girl?"

Tala growled at the insult and tried to shove Kai away, failing miserably. Kai laughed bitterly. "Still think there's nothing wrong, Tala? You're the stronger of the two of us, always have been. Yet you're not even a challenge anymore. And I know why."

He reached down; still keeping Tala pinned to the wall, and grabbed the paper bag. He released Tala, who sagged against the wall, eyes fixed on the paper bag.

"Kai," he started "Don't-"

"Don't what? Look? It's too late for that Tala – I already know." He pulled out a medicine bottle, identical to any in a normal pharmacy. They both knew that the drugs it contained weren't ordinary painkillers or sleeping aids, though. Into the silence, Kai said softly,

"I already know you're still taking Biovolt's drugs, Tala...and I want to know why..."  
  
####  
  
Tala sighed as he nervously tossed the bottle from hand to hand, hearing the seductive rattle of the pills it contained.

"Tala." Kai warned from where he was reclining alertly on the other bed. "Talk. Why are you still taking them?"

"Because I have to, smart arse. They're addictive. One more measure of control by Biovolt." He said bitterly.

"That's not the only reason, Tala. We both know that normally you'd let yourself die before letting Biovolt rule you in any way now. What else?"

"Because...because without them I'm _weak_. Not taking them would result in severe withdrawal, which I wouldn't be able to hide the effects of even if I survived it. And afterwards – afterwards I would be- weaker. I can't protect my team if I'm not able to fight. I can't appear weak in front of my team. Not ever. They need me to be strong, and I won't let them down. Not again. Not _ever_."

Kai sighed and rubbed at his temples.

"Tala, do you think your team would like it if they knew you were dependant on Biovolt, however indirectly? Do you think they need – or deserve – to lose their captain?"

"What?" Tala looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

The blue haired blader looked quietly back at him.

"I suspected you were still taking drugs to enhance the changes Boris made in your body. I did a little research in Biovolt's databases before the police raids on the rest of the facilities, and found the prescription they were giving you. And a whole bucketful of notes about possible side effects and probable side effects. The drugs enhance your physical strength, by forcing your muscles to ignore their normal limits. They also enhance your endurance by doing the same thing, and speed up your reaction times and reflexes. Even with the changes to your body, your frame can't take the extra strain you put on it by pushing it so hard. Because the drugs act as a pain dampener, you can't feel the muscle pain like you should, but you _do_ feel the fatigue. It's why you're always so tired once the drugs have worn off, even if you haven't done anything too strenuous. Sooner or later, your body will collapse under the strain, and you'll be crippled forever."

"So what? It gives me enough time to get my team sorted out, and then they won't need me anymore. I'm willing to make that sacrifice." Tala snarled back, not quite covering the shocked look in his eyes.

"You didn't let me finish, Tala. You won't live that long."

"What? Now what are you talking about?"

"You won't live long enough to become a cripple. The drugs affect your brain as well as your body. Parts of your brain will overload with the extra stress of the enhancements Boris made to them, and you'll have a condition similar to a stroke. Even if you survive, you'll be left a senile, drooling idiot. So what do your noble self-sacrificing urges say to that, hm?"

Tala stared and shook.

"You're lying, lying, _lying!_ You have to be! Boris wouldn't have ever started me on the drugs if he knew they would kill me! He needed me! You're _LYING!_" He wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the innocuous bottle lying on the bed before him.

Kai rose and walked over to him. Tala looked up and flinched at Kai's closeness. The other Russian gave him the bundle of computer printouts. Tala flipped through them, eyes widening as he read through the notes, read the estimate on his life span. The papers dropped from nerveless hands.

"You aren't lying..." he murmured in shock. Kai sat beside him, and pulled him towards himself. Tala let Kai embrace him, still in shock, barely hearing Kai's murmur.

"You know how Boris is...the estimate was that you would survive another year. Long enough for Boris and Voltaire to implement their plans. What did they care if they killed their tool achieving their goals? Tools are meant to be used, then thrown away..." His voice was bitter, and he hugged Tala closer.

"What do I do...?" Kai tilted his head at the lost whisper. The drugs really had affected the other blader if Tala was reduced to asking for help. "You defy Biovolt, like you've always tried to. You show them that you aren't weak, that you can give up those drugs and walk away. Your team will not think less of you for it. And neither will I, Tala. I'll be here to help you. After all, it's why I'm here. Just be grateful I'm not the old man's original observer."

Tala pulled away, a measure of composure back on his face.

"Bad?" Kai shuddered, thinking of the stuck up prick that Mr Dickinson had recommended for the post.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, trust me."

"Guess I'm lucky then. And here I thought you were as bad as it gets."

"Hey!" Kai said in mock-offence. Tala smiled slightly, and picked up the bottle lying between them. Kai's face stilled, and he waited tensely. Tala looked at it for a long moment, then held out the bottle to Kai. His shaking, which had vanished in the flood of anger and shock, had returned, and the pills inside rattled. Kai took the bottle gently, touching his hand briefly as he rose and walked into the bathroom. Moments later Tala heard the toilet flushing and Kai returned, tossing the empty bottle into the wastepaper bin in the corner.

"So. What do I have to expect from you then?" Tala flopped backwards on the bed.

"Nausea, cramps, muscle spasms, and fever."

"All of that? Crap."

"Oh, and paranoia and hallucinations too, probably." Tala grinned lazily, as if he was talking about someone else's withdrawal symptoms.

"When will it kick in?"

"Well, I forgot to take them once, and I was vomiting by the evening of the next day, so I expect I'll be showing the first signs by tomorrow evening. Just in time to throw up another one of your glorious meals, I expect." A pillow was thrown in his direction, and he caught it, laughing quietly as he threw it back. The subject was dropped, and both bladers prepared for bed.  
  
####  
  
Kai watched as Tala excused himself from the table hurriedly and almost ran toward their bedroom and the bathroom beyond. Tala had refused to set foot in the other bathroom, saying the décor gave him the creeps after he found the flowery shower screen.

Ian and Spencer looked startled at Tala's sudden exit. They'd known something was wrong from Tala's occasional bouts of shaking throughout the day no matter how hard he tried to hide it, but they didn't know what. Even Bryan looked surprised. Ian tried to make a joke.

"Guess even Ice-Boy agrees your cooking sucks, Kai." Spencer hit him in the stomach with an elbow to shut him up. Kai calmly got up and picked up his and Tala's plates, stacking them ready for cleaning.

"For being disrespectful to both Tala and I, you can do the washing up tonight, Ian." Ian wailed, but Spencer, who had seen the worry in Kai's eyes whenever he looked at Tala throughout the day, sighed and volunteered to help him.

Kai nodded at him and Bryan and walked out calmly. Once in the hallway, however, his footsteps quickened, and he nearly ran towards the bedroom. Tala had left the door open, and he entered quietly. The bathroom door was shut, but muffled sounds came from behind it. Kai closed and locked the door to their room, then pushed open the bathroom door. Tala had his back to the door, throwing up violently into the toilet. He didn't hear Kai's approach, and it took several minutes before the nausea abated enough for Tala to register that Kai was holding his head gently and rubbing his back. He wiped away the tears that had gathered with the force of his vomiting and the harsh stomach acids burning his throat, and smiled weakly at the other boy.

"Guess that food of yours really is as bad as Ian says it is, huh?"

"You'll be doing your own cooking soon, so make the most of mine. I'm guaranteeing that Ian's will be worse." Tala opened his mouth to reply when another wave of nausea hit, and he turned back to the toilet, sliding an arm round it to help support himself. Kai's arm helped him sit up.

"Didn't know you had a thing for toilets, Tala."

"Yep. Meet my new best friend. We'll be spending _lots_ of time together, I'm sure of that. Perfect for a bonding session, no?"

"I feel jealous..."  
  
####  
  
"Still...envying the...toilet?"

"How could I not be?"

It was the middle of the night, and the nausea had grown and developed into agonising stomach cramps. Tala was lying against Kai, curled around his stomach while Kai rubbed away the muscle spasms that had started in his legs. Every now and again Tala lunged for the toilet and vomited bile. The room stank of vomit and sweat, as did both of its occupants. Tala was white, crimson bangs stuck to his face with sweat. He was shaking violently with the cold, burning hot. Spencer had already come and knocked on the bedroom door – Kai had told him to leave them alone until the morning, that everything would be fine, that Tala was just ill.

Tala threw up again crying out with the searing pain in his gut, then paled even further.

"Kai..." The blue haired Russian was by his side in a moment, and stared with horror at the blood speckling the toilet bowl.

"You're throwing up _blood_, Tala..." "How..._ah!_...observant of...you..." Tala ground out between clenched teeth.

"I should take you to a hospital, Tala. You need fluids, and treatment to stop the vomiting."

"No! I'm going to get through this on my own! I need...to know I can do this, Kai. Please?" Tala looked up at him pleadingly, huge blue eyes standing out from his pasty, sweat streaked face.

"I know, I know. But you have to drink more fluids, Tala. I know it just comes back up, but you have to try, ok? Tala nodded and turned back to the toilet, focusing on not emptying his stomach of the water Kai was offering him. He drank slowly, in small sips.

"Hmm, guess it's up to me to distract you, then. Did I ever tell you about the time Rei got his ponytail caught in a revolving door? No?"  
  
####  
  
They talked about anything and everything all through the night. Kai brought Tala out of his fever dreams, refused to leave when Tala screamed and thrashed, convinced Kai was the cause of his pain, and helped him keep the water down, and in return Tala bared his soul. What he didn't expect was for Kai to show his own right back. Why should Kai show weakness to anyone? Kai showed him just how wrong he really was about that. They talked about their childhood together, about how much it had hurt Kai to finally meet Tala again, only to be twisted into a grotesque parody of himself by Black Dranzer. He talked about things he'd never even considered telling Rei, the Bladebreaker he'd been closest to. Tala talked about how much he'd missed having his best friend around, about how much he'd felt violated by the changes Boris had wrought in his body and mind, and how much the knowledge that they were helping the people he hated the most had gnawed at him.

They both found common ground in discussing the burdens of leadership, and of putting up with Tyson and Ian. They caught up with years of separation in one night, and it helped them both.

Kai rose from the floor where Tala had been resting comfortably against him, free of nausea for the first time in what seemed like forever. Tala made a noise of protest, but Kai only reached to open the frosted window, letting fresh air in and banishing the reek of vomit, blood and sickness that pervaded the room. He sat back down next to Tala, and they watched in comfortable silence as the sun rose slowly.

"Think it's over?" Tala asked.

"There's been no vomiting for two hours or so, your fever's gone and you can keep water down. I'd say you're over the worst of it, yes. You'll still have cravings, but you can easily deal with them. Just think of how pissed Boris will be to find out you survived the withdrawal." Tala sniffed and shrugged.

"If that's the case, can we get out of here? It still smells rank in here."

"Hey, don't blame me – you're the one who produced the smell. I'm probably going to be the one that has to clean up as well. I don't suppose there's any way I can get Ian to do it..."

"Are you bossing my team around into doing your dirty work, Kai?"

"It's _your_ dirt!" "Shut up and help me up, will you?" Kai supported Tala back into the bedroom, and dumped him onto his bed. He'd sponged the other boy off, but he himself really needed a shower. Tala wasn't the best of aims when he was delirious. Kai wrinkled his nose at himself.

"I'm going to go and have a shower. I think I'll use the _other_ bathroom though. Spencer and Ian shouldn't be up yet, so I shouldn't have to fight them for it. Not sure about Bryan though."

"Hmm..." Tala murmured into his pillow. Seconds later he was asleep, exhausted by the long night. Kai smiled and left to have his shower.  
  
####  
  
The bluenette shut the door quietly, smiling wryly at the sight of Tala still sleeping. He bent and shook him gently. Tala came awake almost instantly, looking around alertly.

"Huh? What time is it? Six-thirty?! I had plans for today! How could you let me sleep that long?!" Kai shrugged unconcernedly.

"You needed the rest. Don't worry, I had the team draw up a schedule for doing chores and made them train a bit. Mostly they had a look around the area, and Spencer and Ian played their little game with each other. Bryan..." Here Kai frowned, deep in thought. "Bryan spent most of the day in his room. He attended training, but that was about it." Tala frowned as well.

"He's been even more withdrawn than usual lately. I wonder what's wrong...?"

"I'll look into it. It's what I'm here for, after all. Were you planning on getting up any time soon?" Tala growled and pulled him down to the bed, starting a wrestling match. Both boys then flopped limply on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Kai broke the silence first.

"You know, I don't think Spencer and Ian are the only ones playing a game," he murmured quietly.

"Kai?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever compare us to Ian and Spencer again."

"You don't agree?"

"That we like each other? Yes. That we have been reduced to their level? No."

"Ah. You have a point there."

"Obviously."

"You know, that means only Bryan is alone now. Do you think he's gay?"

"Yes. The Abbey was boys-only. I never saw Bryan with anyone, but I know he thinks girls are weak. After seeing Mariah, I'm not so surprised where he got that idea from."

"She's quite a strong blader."

"She wears _pink_. All pink. And she hangs off Rei like a towel off a rail."

"Rei's not too happy about that, actually. One of the reasons he left his village was because she was getting more and more obsessed with him. Besides, Rei's gay."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Wonder how he and Bryan would get along."

"You had better be kidding, Tala."

"Probably..."

A/N: Oh God, what have I created? Don't answer that.

Please review and feed my newly discovered addiction to reviews...you wouldn't want me to go through Tala's withdrawal would you? Though if Kai came with the package, I might not say no...

Incidentely, does anyone know what Spencer and Ian's last names are? Bryan's is Kunetsov, I think, and Tala's is Ivanhov/Ivanov, but I don't know the other two...


	4. Even Emotionally Deficient Teenagers Can...

**A/N**: Well, that was a bit bigger wait than I thought there'd be... ::slaps self::. There is no excuse except chronic laziness and upcoming GCSE's. ::whimpers in fear::. This chapter is also not as long as I wanted it to be...whoops, sorry?

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Warnings: Again, see first chapter, but also there is mention of SI in this chapter, but nothing bad.

And now, the important bit: This chapter is dedicated to Crowkeeper, as without the...motivational emails I doubt I would have gotton off my lazy arse and written this. Poor reward, I'm afraid! Thankies!

_Review Responses:_

Summing Up The Stars: Update ASAP? Ehehe, I have problems with that...::tries to hide huge update gap::

Fluffys-sidesick: Thankyou! And lookies...update!

Crowkeeper 990: You're a star, you know that? ::glomp::

Babymar-mar: ::blush:: Thankies!

blue-winged-donkey-rabbit: Nope, it appears that Ian and Spencer are doomed to last name anonymity. Tala and Kevin? O.o I didn't know there was such a thing...and pet names? ::evil grin:: Oh yes, there are possiblities there...

Pyro-At-Heart: Living nightmare? I wasn't so sure it was living...::prods story, story bites off fingers:: Cool, you're right!

Ilex-Aquifolium: Hehe, thankyou! And I'm sorry about the wait...

Rejiita: Thankyou!

Devilburns:Thankies!

Lilmatchgirl: Update soon? Define soon...::sweatdrop::

Himeko Sukie: Bryan is indeed sick, but only mentally so, which is why we love him...

Kia: Again, define 'update soon'...

Kai-lovr: Tala/Kai rules. Indeed it does. ::nodnod::

Lefty: Yup, the evil guys are evil and Kai and Tala are cute. That about sums it up! Thankies for reviewing!

Devlinn Reiko-sama: Heh...if I blush anymore I'll self combust....thanks for reviewing!

I really appreciate all the reviews I get, so thankyou so much for letting me know what you think. ::Huggles:: Here's the third chapter...finally.

**Chapter 3: Even Emotionally Deficient Teenagers Can Be Melodramatic (Part A)**

Kai yawned and stretched luxuriously as he wandered into the apartment's small kitchen and nodded to Spencer. Today was the third day at the new flat, and he had plans for today. Tala was still sleeping – for once Kai had managed to sneak out without waking him. By the looks of things, Ian was still asleep too, and who knew what Bryan was doing?

Spencer nodded back as he sat at the table nursing a mug of coffee. The bluenette raised an eyebrow at the slightly hassled expression the big blond was wearing.

"Coffee? Ian keeping you up past your bedtime?"

Spencer didn't miss the double meaning. He groaned and gripped the coffee mug.

"No. I swear, he's completely _oblivious_! Sometimes I feel like a damn paedophile he acts so childish, and I feel like just throwing it over! But _then_ he goes and makes one of those dirty jokes he likes so much, and I remind myself that he's only a year younger than me, and _aaarrrghh!_ There I go again!"

Kai raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"He really must be stressing you out. You didn't get this worked up at the _finals_."

Spencer looked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, Ian drives everyone up the wall, you know that." He muttered, staring into his cup.

"Yeah, I know. I'm the one that has to baby sit you lot, remember?" Kai replied, sauntering over to the small electric cooker and mentally deciding on pancakes for breakfast. He really had to teach the others how to cook...he was rapidly exhausting the few recipes that Rei had taught him to make. He allowed himself a brief pang of regret at the loss of Rei's cooking, and steadfastly ignored the thought of Ian or Bryan near a stove. Spencer ought to be all right...

"Hey, Kai, what's got you into Agony Aunt mode anyway? Trouble with Tala?"

Spencer jerked him out of his daze, asking the question with such casual indifference that Kai nearly answered. Nearly.

He snapped around, brows drawn and crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you talking about?"

Spencer frowned right back.

"I know there's something between you and Tala, Kai, but that's really none of my business. What _is_ my business is whether he's sick or not. I've noticed how weird he's been acting lately. Hell, even Ian's noticed something's up. So what is it?"

Kai glared defensively.

"It's Tala's business, not yours."

"It affects us all, Kai, and you know that. We have to know if Tala is operating at lower efficiency than normal so that we can compensate."

The bluenette suddenly collapsed into a chair, and ran his fingers through his silvery bangs.

"You know Tala doesn't think of it that way. He sees it as weakness. Boris spent so long hammering that into him he just can't see it any other way."

Spencer put down his mug and briefly leaned to touch his shoulder.

"He's a team mate. We're all we have left, and we stick together. All of us." He said quietly, and Kai looked up in surprise, meeting Spencer's pale eyes in barely covered surprise. Then the corner of his mouth quirked up in a brief smile. Like with Ian, it was easy to only see the big Russian as muscle, and forget that to survive in the Abbey, they both had to be extremely canny.

Spencer reinforced this a second later.

"Seen Bryan this morning?" he asked, tactfully changing the subject and the mood. Kai shook his head, wondering if Spencer had a hidden motive for the apparently innocuous comment.

Spencer got up for a refill of coffee.

"He's been acting...oddly, lately. More oddly than usual, I mean." He said, with his back to Kai. Kai smiled inside at the studied casualness of Spencer's tone. The blond cared a great deal about his team – for all of them.

"I know. I noticed." Kai replied. "Do you know what's wrong?" he said bluntly.

"No...but I think he's having problems adjusting to life without a strict regime," Spencer admitted. "And..."

"And we've not exactly been there to support him, even if he'd accept our help." Kai finished. Spencer nodded, looking uncomfortable. The bluenette continued.

"We've been ignoring him – you're busy with trying to beat your way through Ian's head and me through Tala's."

"But that's no excuse. He's our teammate, and we're the closest thing he has to a family he has. He may be as frustrating as Ian sometimes, but he does care for us, under all that 'no emotion but hate' shit that Boris beat into him. We're letting him down." Spencer nearly growled with suppressed self-disgust.

Kai firmly quashed the little flare of warmth at being included in the 'team' and considered the situation carefully.

"Hmmm. So you don't know what he's been doing locked up in his room since we moved here?"

"No, but I can guess," Spencer rolled his eyes. "Brooding. What Bryan does best."

"Everyone's allowed a few melodramatic moments when they're teenagers, Spencer." Kai watched the other carefully.

"Yeah, I know, but still, he's acting differently from usual. He'd laugh and then rip you a new one if you suggested that he needs stability in his life, but it's true. Not that I can blame him. I would have expected him to have completely fallen apart by mow, and it makes me worried about what exactly he's doing to stop himself from doing so..."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked sharply. If Spencer was going where he thought he was with this, they were in trouble. Damn, but the blond was observant.

"I think you know what I'm talking about." Spencer met the cold crimson eyes with his own narrow blue ones. "Normally I'd be expecting Kunetsov to go out and beat a few punks up, or at least smash a few things up. It makes me wonder what he's using as a control mechanism. Bryan's control is absolute, but so was yours."

"I know. I'll look into it." Kai sighed and rubbed his eyes again, yawning daintily as Spencer sat back down with his refill, unaware of the big Russian's scrutiny. Spencer smiled behind his mug. He was completely devoted to Ian, but Kai _was_ very cute when he was in full mother hen mode. He mentally chastised himself for the thought. Tala would kill him if anyone even looked at Kai like that. The blue-haired world champion might not be aware of it, but Tala had his own little campaign going on. All in all, he thought, there were far too many intrigues going on in the flat for his peace of mind. They were all acting like...well, teenagers. Oddly enough, the thought comforted him and he shoved Bryan to the back of his mind, thinking of more important matters.

He looked up at the stressed looking blader before him and grinned maliciously.

"So, Kai, what's for breakfast?"

Kai groaned and dropped his head onto the table. Tala wandered in at that moment and raised an eyebrow.

"Torturing our nanny, Spencer? How unsporting."

He headed for the coffee pot, mentioning over his shoulder,

"So, what's for breakfast?"

---------------

_(Later that night)_

"Oh god," Kai groaned, dropping onto the bed, then growling as Tala dropped on top of him. "Hey! _Off_. You have your own bed, right over there. I'm no one's pillow."

"Shut up and take it like a man. And to think _your _team managed to win the Tournament. Pathetic." Tala showed no signs of moving from where he was sprawled over Kai's legs. Secretly, Kai was rather pleased Tala trusted him enough to make casual contact with him. If anyone else tries it they'd be dead meat, of course.

"As I remember, we won by kicking your arses into next week." He needled Tala mercilessly. The redhead retaliated.

"I recall Spencer kicking your arse, actually. I would have obliterated you in seconds." He stuck his delicate nose in the air, looking uncannily like Johnny from the Majestics.

"You can dream, Tala. And you look like that redhead from that team of rich bitches."

"I don't! His hair is practically purple anyway. And what do you mean 'rich bitches'?"

"Oh yeah, you never go the chance to talk to them, did you? Lucky you. Robert is an honourable opponent" Here Tala sniffed in derisive amusement, "but Johnny was just irritating. Kind of cute though."

Tala hit him.

When Kai uncurled from around his stomach, he found himself laid out on his back, Tala frowning down on him.

"Thought that would get your attention," he smirked trying to ignore his abused gut. Tala didn't pull his punches.

"Cheating on me already?" The redhead glared. Kai rolled his eyes. He never would have taken Tala as the jealous type...

"Hey, he was the one who liked me, not the other way around. I was somewhat...preoccupied, at the time."

Tala eased back.

"He's gay too? We seem to be popping up all over the place. I never would have taken him as the type to like someone like you. Figured he'd go after the green haired girl on his own team."

"Green haired gi- Oh, you mean Oliver. Actually, Oliver's a guy as well. Guess you wouldn't know that, you never fought him, after all."

The other blader stared in disbelief.

"Really? That's just...weird. I didn't want to know all this. I suppose he's gay too?"

"I have no idea and I don't particularly care. Just accept that I'm hardly interested in anyone else and leave it at that."

"Yeah, but...is _anyone_ on the Beyblading teams straight?!"

"Tyson, Max I think, Kenny for sure, Rei reckons the White Tigers are, with the possible exception of Lee in my opinion, Michael from the Allstarz is _obviously_ bisexual...are we done yet? I can think of more interesting things to do than gossip about other peoples' sexualities like teenagers."

Tala rolled his eyes.

"Like what, the- Mmmpfm!"

The kiss involved a lot of moaning and grunting, and later on a lot of tongue. When Kai came up for air, he grinned at the sight of Tala gaping like a fish.

"Like making out like horny teenagers?" He smiled in a way that if it were anyone else would have been classed as 'tender' but as this was Kai it obviously wasn't. Obviously.

The oh-so-not romantic and mushy moment of their first kiss was broken by a mysterious rumbling noise.

Both bladers stopped from certainly not staring into each other's eyes and looked down. Tala flushed bright red as his stomach rumbled again, and Kai frowned.

"Did you eat dinner? Ian didn't do so badly the third time around..."

Wolborg's master looked at him incredulously.

"Not so bad? Did you taste that stuff?! I didn't even know you could burn pasta!"

The two-toned bluenette grimaced.

"_I_ certainly can't. And yes, I did taste it. I was designated taster, remember? I drew the short straw." He wriggled out from under Tala and rose from the bed.

"Stay there. I'll go see if Ian's left us anything edible in the kitchen."

He wandered out, only to return a few minutes later with a packet of chocolate biscuits in one hand. He grinned at Tala.

"They were behind the semolina. Probably Spencer's stash. He's used to Ian by now. They'll do well together."

He sat down crossed legged at the end of his bed, which Tala was still occupying, and shared out the biscuits. He hesitated as Tala started to nibble hungrily at the chocolate.

"Tala..."

The other looked up sharply at the serious tone.

"What?" He studied Kai's face. "It's Bryan, isn't it?" he said hesitantly. Kai was half-relieved that Tala had lost none of his observant nature, but also even more worried that everyone but Ian had apparently noticed something was up. Come to think of it, he'd bet Ian knew too. Bryan would be pissed. Majorly. But then, that was nothing new.

"Yes, it's Bryan. When is it _not_ Bryan? I told you he's been acting weird, and today Spencer took great pains to point it out to me."

"Spencer? It must be bad then. I've never known him to openly take a hand in the running of the team. He's a rank and file soldier through and through." Tala chewed worriedly at his lower lip, distracting Kai for a moment as his teenage hormones decided to make their presence known He dragged his mind back with an effort.

"Heh, he could give you a run for your money when it comes to the title of Team Momma, Tala."

"I thought that was supposed to be _your _title? Now tell me what's up with Bryan. I need to know, so spill, Hiwatari."

"You asked for it. I've been watching him, and he's been even more antisocial than usual. He retreats to his room whenever he can, enough so that even Ian notices and even gives him deliberate openings to get them into that eternal bickering they have. Bryan just ignores him completely, which is beyond weird. Bryan may deny it all he likes, but that's just his and Ian's weird-arsed way of showing that they actually like each other."

Tala frowned and stared intently at him, playing devil's advocate.

"That doesn't mean shit, Kai. Bryan's probably just trying to readjust to his new lifestyle."

"I don't doubt that. It's just _how_ he's adjusting that's worrying me. That night you decided to go cold turkey, I saw him pressing down on his stomach during the meal. Like he was tracing something on his belly..."

The redhead's eyes narrowed in worry, but he continued playing his role. He sounded even less convinced with his own argument now.

"So maybe he has indigestion. You've admitted yourself that you're a bad cook."

"He smells like blood, Tala. He's either a vampire, a serial killer or he's self-harming."

The statement hung in the air between them, in a momentary silence that seemed to stretch forever.

Kai broke that looming silence.

"Come to think of it...he might be a serial killer. This is _Bryan_ we're talking about here..."

Tala hit him. Again.

Kai wheezed and looked up again from where his abused stomach had folded him over just in time to see Tala stomping towards the door with the look of a cyborg with a mission stamped all over him.

He was reaching for the door handle when he was hit by a flying tackle from behind, narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the door only by twisting with his attacker and flipping himself on top. Unfortunately, his attacker had clearly anticipated his move and Tala found himself flat on his back with two mocking crimson eyes looking down at him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"What does it look like?" Tala snarled back, trying to buck him off. "I'm going to go and beat some sense into that bloody idiot Kunetsov, that's what!"

"At quarter past twelve at night? It'll be the last thing you ever do if your wake Bryan up, you know. And you aren't going to help him by confronting him directly like that. He'll just clam up."

Tala sagged with unspoken surrender and Kai helped him up, moving them both to the bed. Wolborg's master still wasn't fully recovered from the ordeal he'd been through, and it showed in the tightness around his mouth. Kai handed him the by now much-abused chocolate biscuits and he absently started to lick the chocolate off the top of one.

"I know you're right. But why the hell does he feel the need to cause himself pain anyway?"

Kai leaned back against the end board and considered the question carefully.

"I'd guess it's a control method. You know what a control freak Bryan is, and his whole 'feel-no-emotion-but-hate' thing doesn't help him at all. He bottles everything up, and the only thing that lets him let it all out is training and sparring. None of which we've been doing a great deal of. I suspect he's pouring all of that frustration back at himself."

"But _why?_" Tala whacked the wall at the top of the bed. Kai hated to think what the neighbours were assuming was going on...

"Probably so that he doesn't end up lashing out at anyone, like Ian. He's isolating himself to make sure that none of his inner turmoil spills over...onto us."

"That...sounds about right," Tala sighed and scrubbed at his eyes. "Who does he think he's kidding? What happens to him affects us all. And what the hell is up with that psychologist shit, anyway?" He gave Kai a narrow-eyed stare.

"That's what I'm being paid for." Kai shrugged carelessly.

"You're being _paid_?"

"You didn't think I took this job because of the company, did you? Then again," he added, "The fringe benefits are pretty damn good." His leer made it clear what he meant.

Tala stuck out his tongue, but pulled it back in when Kai looked like he might take that as an invitation.

"Now we know the problem, what's the solution?" He asked logically. "You've already said that we can't just go barging in there. So what does the great nanny suggest?"

"Well..."

The two bladers bent their heads to planning.

TBC (hopefully)

A/N: Ehhehehe, Kai just can't seem to keep his mind on the job, can he? I wonder why? Again, I apologise for the relative shortness of this. I wanted to have one chapter per 'issue' but I'm evidently too lazy to achieve that. Sorry!

R&R would be nice, if you feel I deserve it. If anyone can point out the glaring plothole that I'm _sure_ is lurking somewhere in here, I'd be reeeeaaallly grateful. I know it's in there somewhere...

I will try my very best to update sooner this time. Promise...


	5. Emotional Trauma Is A Bitch, Yes?

**A/N: **I finally found a spare hour or four to write this, but unfortunately that means I rushed it a little, and as a consequence, I absolutely _hate _how some of this chapter came out. Really, really hate. I cannot for the life of me write actiony scenes...So, I apologize for the crappy writing. Oh, and I broke down and used Japanese (once) which I also apologize for ::sweatdrop::

If it isn't clear, btw, they're all speaking in Russian now. When I have the other bladers turn up, I'm considering using Russian for a couple of words, so does anyone know where I can find basic Russian? Just 'yes, no, bugger' kinda things. Internet translators only use symbols ::scowls::

Anyways, hope you like this bit!

_Warnings:_ Yaoi/shounen-ai, teenagerness, self-injury, blood (mild), OOC (lots), one use of Japanese.

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Beyblade, and this fic is meant purely for entertainment, not money, blah blah blah. Any unrecognisable characters are probably just incredibly badly-written canon characters...::sweatdrops::

Review Responses are at the bottom (I got reviews! Yay!)

**Chapter 4: Emotional Trauma Is A Bitch, Yes? **(or Part B of Chapter 3, if you prefer...)

Ian wandered into the living room, yawning sleepily, aiming for the couch.

Which wasn't there.

"What? Where'd the couch go?" He looked around slightly more alertly and finally noticed Kai and Tala busily moving furniture to the edges of the room, clearing a largish space in the centre. Tala shook his head at him in mock despair.

"Go and get dressed, Ian. And eat breakfast. I'm sure you can manage to pour yourself a bowl of cereal?"

Kai, lugging a small table past, stopped to smirk.

"If that's too much for you, Spencer is in the kitchen. I'm sure he'd be happy to...assist you." Tala and Kai looked at each other and simultaneously began to snigger.

Knowing he was outnumbered, but not fully registering when this had become a battle situation, Ian retreated to the safety of the kitchen and Spencer from the dual attack. This was all Kai's fault, he was sure of it...

-------

Bryan opened his door, checking surreptitiously up and down the short corridor before venturing out and heading to the kitchen, moving lightly on the balls of his feet. He slid silently down, coming closer and closer to the target and the food contained therein. Everyone should be out of the way...Kai and Tala generally retreated to their room in the afternoon, to do God knew what, Spencer did the same but to work on his beyblade and exercises, and Ian spent every second of his spare time in the living room immersed in his games or the television.

Everything looked clear...he was barely a couple of yards away from the door to the kitchen...he hadn't managed to sneak out and get breakfast, as Tala had somehow managed to be constantly going to and fro along the corridor all morning. He was, much as he hated to admit it, hungry...

Passing the door to the living room, pushed to, unusually, but it made it less of an obstacle...nearly there...

His stomach growled. Loudly.

_Oh, shit, _Bryan had time to think before the door was pulled open and Spencer looked down at him. Bryan thought he saw a faint gleam of amusement in the blond's blue eyes, quickly hidden.

"Hey, Bryan. I was just coming to get you. Tala's decided we've lazed around long enough," he paused, "So he's set up a training regime. Beyblading and physical."

Bryan upgraded his mental obscenities to '_Oh, fuck._' And wondered if he could blow Spencer off with his icy temper. But Spencer was already moving aside to let him in to the room, and every particle of Bryan's highly trained and brainwashed body was telling him that this was training, and Tala was the captain, and this was his _purpose_. So, naturally, he went in. Damn.

Tala stopped from where he'd evidently been sparring hand-to-hand with Kai in the cleared space in the centre of the small room and turned towards him. The lavender haired Russian heard Spencer shut the door behind him and move to stand next to Ian, who was perched precariously on the high back of the couch. Bryan tried not to feel like a rabbit in the headlights of a ten-ton lorry.

"Hey, Bry. I was just sending Spencer to go get you. Up for some training?" the redhead said cheerily enough, but his eyes were narrowed slightly. Bryan guessed he'd finally torn himself away from Kai and whatever had been bugging him the last two days and noticed his own conspicuous absence, apart from at the evening meal.

"Of course." He made his own voice as cold and bored as always. Wouldn't do to act out of character, after all.

"Good." Tala smiled. Bryan wondered if it was coincidence that his canines looked almost exactly like Wolborg's. Something was seriously wrong here...

"I was just done sparring with Kai. How about you take his place?"

The moment the sentence was out of Tala's mouth, Bryan knew something was up. Ian was looking puzzled, and was opening his mouth to say something when Spencer touched his arm. Ian looked back at him, his face only just on a level with the blond's despite his high seat on the couch back. A look passed between them and Ian closed his mouth with a snap.

And Kai...Kai was looking pissed off, but not at him. He was glaring two burning holes in Tala's back.

"Tala..." he said with a note of...warning? Concern? Whatever it was, Tala completely ignored it, smiling sweetly at the bluenette.

"Kai." Oh look, there was _another_ one of those meaningful looks. Bryan was starting to feel left out...

And then Kai walked to the edge of the room, leaning against the wall, obviously surrendering the staring match, and Tala turned those big blue lamps on him.

Bryan did his best to ignore the weird atmosphere and walked to the centre of the roughly marked out 'ring', facing his captain.

"Any style, no weapons." Tala ordered as Bryan removed his belt and over shirt, leaving him in a short-sleeved pale tee shirt and loose trousers.

Tala, already stripped down similarly, nodded to Kai as they dropped into loose defensive positions.

Kai nodded back, and said simply, "Begin."

------

Tala's mind dropped into a coldly analytical state the moment the word left Kai's lips. He watched unemotionally as Bryan circled slightly to the left, then sprung forward in a perfect, fluid attack. Bryan was always the first to attack, as aggressive in martial arts as in Beyblading. Tala dipped and swayed, and Bryan's perfectly controlled punch breezed past his ear. He slid past the other boy as Bryan aborted his attack and smoothly twisted in order to block the high kick Tala aimed for his head.

They broke away, watching for weaknesses in each other's defences. Occasionally they launched short, testing attacks, but neither fully committed himself to a full-out assault. They had trained too much, too long, in each other's company to not be fully aware of their own weaknesses and strengths. They were equally matched.

Or, at least, they _were_ equally matched, Tala thought wryly. He could feel Kai's eyes boring into his back again. The original plan for trapping Bryan had involved them setting up a match, and then having Bryan fight Kai under pretence of 'training'. And that was exactly what they'd done, except for the Kai bit. But Bryan was _his _teammate, and _he_ was the captain, and this was his fight.

He dodged another attack from Bryan, a vicious hand chop to the windpipe, and managed to push his opponent off balance with a kick to the knee. As brutal as Bryan had appeared in his match against Rei, he wouldn't intentionally seriously hurt Tala, like Tala wouldn't normally intentionally hurt him. But, Tala thought, blocking another throat strike, Bryan was fighting like he normally did, secure in the knowledge that Tala could handle it. Trouble was, in his weakened state, he wasn't at all sure he _could_ handle it...

----

Kai watched, none of his inner turmoil showing on his face, as the two bladers fought with a remarkable level of skill. Both were partially pulling their punches, but Kai saw a bruise already coming up on Bryan's cheekbone from a skilful punch from Tala, and the redhead was favouring his right side. At first glance, the two fighters appeared to be completely equally matched, but as he watched, the blue-haired boy could tell that Tala was already dropping back slightly, evading attacks instead of blocking, launching less of his own, shifting into a defensive mode, something which none of them would normally choose to do. The tide of the fight was turning, and not in Tala's favour. The fight had been going for almost a minute and a half now, although it seemed longer, and already Tala was becoming winded. The skin around his mouth was tight and he was sweating.

Spencer was looking at him across the room, an equal amount of concern showing on his face. He and Ian had known something was up, as neither Tala or Kai had been seriously training before Bryan had showed up, instead exchanging irritating secretive looks. He'd guessed that the something was to do with Bryan, but he probably hadn't been expecting Tala to go and _fight_ Bryan, for _kami-sama's_ 1 sake.

Kai looked back, trying to reassure Spencer even though he wasn't overly confident himself. The last thing they needed now was Spencer interfering in the fight – if Bryan got angry, there was no telling what would happen.

There was no telling what would happen now, either...Bryan was frowning, sensing something was off in the fight. He initiated another attack, a dual one, with a blow at the redhead's chest designed to wind him and a strike to Tala's leg with his foot to disable him.

Tala avoided the leg strike clumsily, regaining balance just in time to receive the punch full in the chest...

------

Bryan felt his fist connect hard with Tala's ribcage, and watched in bemusement as the other boy staggered and bent slightly, trying frantically to draw air into his lungs and maintain his defensive posture at the same time.

_What the hell? _Bryan thought. The leader of the Demolition Boys should have been able to evade the attack with relative ease. He knew that something had weakened Tala recently, but to this extent...?

Instead of pressing his advantage and following up his attack with another blow, the pale Russian held back slightly, aiming for another leg strike to drop Tala to the floor and end the match. It was getting out of hand – if he hadn't pulled that chest strike, Tala could have been dealing with cracked ribs. As it was, he was going to have some impressive bruises...

Caught up in planning how to end the match as quickly as possible, Bryan failed to see Tala's foot extending outwards and then suddenly snapping round as Tala launched himself at Bryan. Bryan raised his arms instinctively to protect his face, just in time to catch Tala's foot full in his stomach. He ignored the sudden flare of intense pain from his belly as he spun out of the way again, making Tala stumble slightly. He frowned again, pushing the oddly continuing pain out of his mind as he noticed the sweat streaking Tala's face. With that blow, he'd thought the previous weakness had just been a clever feint, but-

He suddenly became aware of the deafening silence in the small room. The others had been quiet all through the sparring, realising that this was more than just training, but now there was absolute silence.

Tala was staring at him with an odd look of mingled triumph and regret, anger and sorrow. Bryan followed the gazes of the other occupants of the room and looked down at his chest and belly.

"Shit."

Looking up again, he realised he'd said that out loud, surprised by the lines of red tracing their macabre way across the pale fabric of his tee shirt. That last strike must have made them bleed through the bandages, he thought distractedly.

Tala moved towards him.

"Shit indeed, Bryan. Mind if I take a look?" The look in his eyes, suddenly icy, left no room for argument. Bryan thought briefly at about trying anyway, but figured the uncaring exterior was probably going to be the most effective. He did not resist as Tala pulled the stained tee shirt up and unwound the bandages. He stood emotionless as Ian swore fluently in the background as dark, sluggishly bleeding slashes, looking uncannily like what Bryan had been known to inflict on opponents with Falborg, only worse, were revealed. Scabbed over cuts showed older wounds had been inflicted. A few white scars showed that perhaps this was not the first time Bryan had turned to this control method. All the cuts were neatly in line, same length, same width, marching horizontally across his heavily muscled stomach.

Tala traced delicate, pale fingers across the wounds, crumpled bandages hanging from one hand. He looked up at Bryan, emotions swirling in his eyes as blood stained his fingertips, beading along the cuts.

"So, Bry. Do you want to tell me what the _hell_ is going on?" His voice, still as cold as ice, cracked like a whip in the silence.

"It's none of your concern." Bryan's voice rivalled his captain's for sheer frostiness.

"None of my concern? Last time I checked, Bryan, I was team captain. Your little," he prodded Bryan's stomach, "-problem is going to cause trouble. Why are you slicing yourself up? And more to the point, why didn't you tell us about it? We're your _team_, Bryan. If you can't trust us, who can you trust?"

Bryan snorted coldly.

"You make it sound like I'm pregnant. And it's none of your business," he repeated. "I saw no reason to tell any of you."

Tala looked like he was about to rip Bryan's head off. Kai decided now would be a good time to intervene. He moved forward, drawing the other two Russians' eyes to him.

"Bryan, I know that you're struggling with the adjustments of life away from the Abbey. It's not a weakness, but running away and denying the truth is. So, why do you hurt yourself?" His fingers reached out and joined Tala's at the bloody furrows in the pale skin.

Bryan wavered almost imperceptibly.

"Bryan?" Another voice joined the fray. The three in the centre of the room looked over at Ian, who had jumped off the couch back and moved towards them, Spencer at his back. He looked confused, and slightly hurt.

It was the final straw. Bryan batted away Tala and Kai's fingers gently and pulled his shirt down, heedless of the fresh stains appearing. He sighed.

"I...just have to control...things that I feel. I can't let myself become so...emotional..."

"What do you feel?" Kai questioned softly.

"I don't know...frustration, anger, fear..." he looked embarrassed.

"Fear at breaking away from Biovolt?" Ian asked unexpectedly. Bryan nodded. Ian shrugged. "We all have that, Bry. You shouldn't shut yourself off from the people who understand you best, y'know. Not good thinking, that."

"He's right," Tala said. "Please, Bry, promise to find some other way to work off your frustrations? What you're doing hurts us all..."

Bryan nodded reluctantly, his emotional turmoil showing on his face.

Tala suddenly wrapped an arm around Bryan's neck and uncharacteristically hugged him, careful of the cuts. Ian leaned against the pair and Spencer set a hand on Bryan's shoulder.

"We're all here for you." He said in his deep voice.

Kai started to move away slightly, feeling like he didn't belong in the unusually emotional huddle. However, one long arm snaked out of the bundle and grabbed his arm, drawing him into the group. If Kai were honest, which was a terrifying idea, he would admit that he didn't really fight the hold that much. He mentally chalked up the incident to emotional neglect in his childhood, not knowing that Bryan was simultaneously chalking the brief hugging up to Boris' 'have-no-emotion-but-hate' training and making a mental note to add an extra hour to the torture session he was planning when he finally got his hands on the bastard. Of course, he already had several days' worth of torture accumulated. Boris was going to be one unhappy man...

The boys broke away from each other, looking faintly embarrassed again.

Bryan broke the quiet.

"So, exactly how do you propose to 'relieve my frustrations'?" he asked dryly. Tala brightened up.

"Well, it's simple! You're less frustrated now, aren't you? You haven't tried to strangle Ian with his own entrails yet, and you even accepted physical contact!" Bryan was forced to admit this was so. "So obviously, that workout helped you burn off your anger. Therefore, all you need is a good bout of sparring every day or two. I'll kick your arse around the room, and you can get rid of that excess...tension." Tala finished happily, only to wilt slightly when met by four incredulous stares.

"What?"

Bryan answered.

"Oh, nothing, apart from the fact that you're nowhere near strong enough to fight me regularly. You're barely standing upright now!"

Now that he mentioned it, Tala did feel a bit shaky. He felt Kai's hand slip unobtrusively under his elbow and glanced at him with a mixture of annoyance and gratitude. It wouldn't do to faint – _pass out _– he mentally corrected, now.

"What are you talking about? I'm _fine-_"

Ian cut him off with his irritating laugh.

"Oh, come on, Tala, we all know you've been sick. Bit of a hypocrite you are, telling Bry to trust us, then keeping things to yourself. We've all noticed there's something wrong, as if Kai hovering around protectively wasn't a big enough clue!"

Tala turned an accusing stare on Kai, who shrugged.

"I can't help it if your team is so perceptive."

Tala sighed.

"Fine...I'm in withdrawal from the drugs Boris was giving me to enhance my strength." He admitted shamefacedly.

"There, was that so hard?" Spencer rumbled. "Now, what are we going to do about these matches? Neither Ian or I are trained in combat skills as intensively as you three are, Tala needs to take it easy for a while so he doesn't damage himself, so I figure that leaves Kai." He laid it out logically.

Bryan looked over at the bluenette, who scratched absently at one of his tattooed cheeks.

"I'd appreciate the chance to practice with someone at my level," Kai admitted. "If I'd make a satisfactory sparring partner, I don't mind."

Bryan shrugged too-casually.

"It's all the same to me," he said. "I don't care whose arse I whip. I'll win, either way."

"In your dreams." Kai sneered back, and suddenly everything was all right.

Ian (inevitably) broke the comfortable atmosphere.

"So, now that that's sorted out," he eyed Tala and Bryan. "Which one of you is going to cook dinner?"

In the ensuing uproar, Spencer mused light-heartedly that maybe they were all well on the path to normal teenagerhood. They seemed to have the melodrama, the stupidity and the inability to look after themselves down pat. Funny that...

-------

Kai stumbled out of the kitchen, reaching up and whacking the smoke alarm situated on the doorframe. The shrilling noise cut off, and Kai wiped his streaming eyes as smoke poured thickly out of the room. He surveyed the four bladers in front of him, wearing expressions that ranged from hangdog, to mildly amused, to murderous, right the way down to Ian who was rolling around on the floor laughing his head off.

"Right," He declared grimly. "Enough is enough. It's time to call in outside help..."

TBC...

1 Kami-sama - God.

A/N: Aaand we all know who that it, don't we? ::sighs:: I swore I'd never write self-injury or NCS fics...I'm hopeless.

Review Responses:

_Fluffy's sidekick:_ ::presents update:: Voila!

_Sarcasmcat:_ ::blushes:: Thankies for the review!

_Summing Up The Stars:_ And, for once, I did update quickly! (ish).

_Devlinn Reiko-sama:_ It was a long wait for the last chapter, I know ::bows head in shame:: But, yep, update now!

_Darks Light:_ I like Ian/Spencer, even if it is a whacked pairing in terms of the sizes of the characters...and I updated quickly? You must have read it just before I updated...you missed the 4 month gap in updates...::blushes with shame::

_Smile :):_ Lo, there is an update! ;)

_Bra-Two:_ Thanks! Here's the next lil bit!

_Crowkeeper 990:_ Heh, thanks for leaving me a nice review, and thanks for the spellchecking. I expect you'll find lots in this...::scowls at evil Word spellcheck:: Hope you like!

_Werewolf of Fire:_ Hey, another Ian/Spencer fan! Just goes to show that height doesn't matter when you have love...::evil laughter:: You have indeed got to love the pairing...

_Darkening Dreams:_ ::huggles you:: Thankies for the compliments! ::ego swells:: Thanks for the heads up about Sky and Digital TV, although I've never heard of 'Adelphia' channel either, I'm afraid...I keep thinking about Philadelphia cream cheese spread now...weird!

_Blue Misfit:_ Nope, not discontinued! I finally managed to reel out some more, with help. Hope you like the update!

_Babymar-mar:_ Yeppers, Kai 'did the kissy-wissy with tala-wala' ::cracks up laughing at mental images:: Thankies for the review!

_Rejiita:_ Thanks for the review! Here's the next bit o' crap...

_Shady gurl:_ I'm sure Spencer is just a big softy at heart...::watches him demolish Kai in the finals:: Well, occasionally, anyway :)

_Ilex-Aquifolium_: Hehe, no, I'm still more or less in this plane of existence and all...::holds out update in peace offering::

_TNTiggris:_ Thanks! I'm glad you like the chapter titles...I personally hate the fic title, so I'm happy I didn't completely screw up titles and stuff...

_I luv Kai:_ ::sweatdrop:: Well, that's one of them, I guess. I'm personally not overly impressed with either V-Force or G-Rev. No Tala at all in one, and _what _did they do to Tala's eyebrows in G-Rev?! Lol, I know that's a weird thing to hate, but they irritate me...stupid pointy things...Thanks for the review!

_Phyrefly:_ Manly and sexy indeed...but yeppers, so adorably cute too! ::huggles::

_Lady Snowblossom:_ Uh-huh, cutting bad, and yes, Bryan does indeed need Rei to...relieve some tension...:giggles maniacally:: And Kai is an adorable mother hen! ::huggles them all::

_Blue-winged-donkey-rabbit:_ Really? Well, go you then for supporting fun pairings! Rei is coming, don't worry! Kai's exhausting his mental recipe book...mmnmn, sugar and coffee....::drools::

_Luana Hime_: I'm happy it meets with your approval! ::giggles:: And yeah, I always thought that V-force was kinda anti-climatic...no Dboys, for one thing...

Thankyou to everyone who took the time to review! ::huggles:: I cherish each and every one of them! If you liked, please review?


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